Advent Of the Reclaimer Empire
by WaaagMaster
Summary: 110,000 years have passed since the fall of the Ancient Human Empire. When the Great War at last came to a close it would lay down the foundations of something that has not been seen in over 100,000 years, a resurgent people, a revived empire. But one final test remains, the Reclamation has at last begun... [AU]
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

_ "For Centuries our people fought the Archenemy. For centuries we had been hopeless in our fight, driven back endlessly with only defeat and loss to show for it. The Archenemy comes again now, and this time we are not alone. Standing against the Archenemy are the descendents of those who we viewed as gods. The old ones will know fear as our progenitors and their vassals march to war."_

_-Leader of the Remnant of the Empire, on the eve of the Skillian Blitz._

The star system could have easily been considered barren; revolving around the generic main sequence star was a single lifeless planetoid no larger than three thousand kilometers in diameter.

The nameless planetoid had once been a vibrant garden world teeming with life, or at least it had been, until it had faced the fate of orbital bombardment from an unknown war tens of thousands of years ago. But that wasn't what made the system important.

For the first time in over fifty thousand years the system had visitors, a flotilla of ships in orbit of the planetoid. Eleven vessels held gyrosyconise orbit, of them six were dull grey tri-engine weaponless bulk vessels built for cargo and passengers, while the remaining five ships were armed and built for war. Four of these were no longer than a hundred and eighty meters, frigates built for screening duty. The last vessel, at two hundred and forty meters in length was the small groups flagship a heavy frigate and in the script of its builders was the name _The Imperative _along it hull.

_The Imperative_- Bridge

The heavy frigates bridge was in the center of the ship, as a means to, if only temporary protect those who crewed the most vital area of the ship. At the front sat a trio of occupied stations, the helmsman's the navigator's, and the weapons operators stations. Behind them and in the center was a raised dais for the ships commander, to the dais's left was the communications station, and to the right was the sensors. At the rear of the dim, cramped room was the only way in, a narrow hall way shaped to give the bridge crew a better defensive position all the while expose any intruder who tried to seize the chamber.

"Report" ordered a voice from the command throne that sat upon the bridges center dais.

"All ships reporting in and are standing ready, General" Replied the Generals executive officer, who stood to his superiors right and rear.

The General nodded shifting forward in his scarlet colored armor, listening to the quiet taping of his crew operating his personal flagship.

"How many?" asked the General?

"Each hauler holds a hundred warriors, and just as many of the servant caste, there are thirty warriors among each of the light frigates and another eighty on _The Imperative." _The Executive Officer reported lowering his data-pad to his side "Just over fifteen hundred in total, including naval crewmen. Sir"

The General frowned; he would have wanted the thirty thousand warriors, as was the original plan. That he told himself would be all that he would have needed for his mission, but he would have to make due with the eight hundred warriors within the flotilla.

The plan that his direct superior had formulated had been simple, he along with a large force of warriors would find a 'safe' world then they would dig, bury and thus create a underground facility to house the cryo-stasis pods that his force would be housed within and when the time came, emerge, conquer then lead the galaxy against the Archenemy.

It had been in progress until the plans flaw was exposed and then used by hostile forces. The flaw was that in order for the plan to succeed there would need to be a diversion, and that was where the Supreme Commander of the Zuras Resistance Force would lead every warship that could be amassed in short order to launch the newest of what would be a futile counter-attack. It had not been the first for that matter only one in the hundreds that had been launched in the passed decade. That was what the plan hinged upon. The enemy had been seemingly tied down, only for a strike force to attack the camp; those in his flotilla were the only survivors.

"Have all ships approach the following coordinates?" the General ordered activating his Omni-tool and proceed to send the relevant data to the navigators station.

"A relay-less region, old friend?" His second, a skilled engineer who stood slightly shorter than himself asked him dropping pretence that he had been holding.

"Are you doubting me, Jamaar?" Javik asked, his subordinate, the only survivor of his old crew, all those years ago

"Never, but there is a purpose as to why it called a dead zone"

"True, but it's the only region that Edre-Tyrene is suspected to be in" Javik said leaning back; Jamaar froze in stunned silence at the sound of the name.

"Is it truly?" Jamaar asked quietly, his voice wondrous.

Javik nodded he knew what his friend was thinking, it was the name their gods, those who they learned the Cosmic Imperative from, called their home world.

Their gods, all they knew of them was simple. In appearance they were humanoids standing on two legs with two arms, but they were just as varied to the extreme. It was the reason why they made the race of mono-gendered–humanoids on one world their inheritors. Government wise their gods were an empire that conquered or destroyed the weak, to the betterment of all races in the galaxy. But they had vanished sixty thousand years ago. Long before his peoples time, leaving only dysfunctional relics, and script that had taken centuries to decrypt behind.

"Communications, send the coordinates to all ships, Helms take us underway," Javik ordered and with the given order his crew rushed into action.

"All ships away, General" Replied his comms officer.

"Underway to systems edge, will be in FTL position in fifteen minutes" The Helmsman replied curtly.

Five minutes passed as the eleven ships gathered together, the cargo ships in the center the frigates surrounding them and _The Imperative_ in the lead of the small formation.

"Multiple contacts on intercept course" The sensor operator barked out sharply.

"Report!" Ordered Javik as he cursed, they had waited too long in the system.

"One capital-ship class and three destroyer class ships on intercept course in eleven minutes' replied the crewman at the sensor station.

"Have all ships move to full speed?" Javik growled, they couldn't stay and fight nor could any ship stay behind to delay the enemy and buy time, his forces were too low as it was.

"I will head to engineering to see what I can assist with," Informed Jamaar as he stood to Javiks right.

"Understood" Respond Javik as a form of response, his friend had been the chief engineer of his old ship so it would be wise to release him to his post.

With the bridge reduced to eight individual the next few moments passed with silence as the moved to try and out run the Archenemy craft.

"We are away, all ships are away" Said the Navigator breaking the silence that had engulfed the bridge.

"How long until we reach to coordinates?" Asked Javik as he relaxed, there was nothing he could do now

"Our ETA is at five days," responded the navigator.

"That will leave our primary and secondary heat capacitors fried" Said Systems

"Noted" Javik replied as he looked at his crew, they like his warriors and himself; they wore the red armor of the empire. They were all fine troops but would they be enough to revive the empire he wondered.

_**Five Days later, unknown location**_

"All ships report" Ordered Javik as he stood by the communications station.

"Cargo one reporting," Said the first captain followed shortly by all other vessel captains of the Flotilla.

"Sensors, what have found?" Javik asked tensely, the passed five days of FTL had been uneventful but that didn't mean anything against an enemy that could reach a location before them; they had been in system for half an hour by that point discharging the static builds up that was the result of space travel.

"Six planetoids located, five planets, and one moon orbiting the second planet" Replied Sensors as he looked at the data from probes that had been dispatched minutes ago.

"Is it habitable?" Asked Javik as he moved to sit at his command chair.

There was a pause then "Affirmative it has proper atmospheric conditions." Responded Sensors as he looked at the data that had been sent by one of the probes.

"Helms head there, that will be our sanctuary." Responded Javik "Sensors, confirm no Archenemy ships in region"

Looking at the data from probes that had been sent to the edge of the system, the sensors operator looked to the General "N-No archenemy ships are here, nor is there any Element Zero emissions" responded the officer.

"Very well" replied Javik as he mused this would have to do then, and if they were found, then Cosmic Imperative would settle matters.

**A/N: Well here's the prolog of my first story, next chapter will be introducing most of the rest of the main characters. If anyone wants to beta send me a PM. Read and tell me what you think. **


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer I Own Nothing, Beta'ed by Debye**

"When the Great War ended, Humanity was devastated, over five hundred colonies rendered uninhabitable, six out of every ten men, women, and children slain. We needed hope, an assurance that Humanity could still function and we found it… in our past."

-Secretary-General Anita Goyle on the significance of the Heian discovery, and the founding of the United Worlds Directorate and the Reclaimer Empire.

OPERATION: Midnight Stroll

The Jungle floor was pristine. Great trunks reached up over a hundred meters into the night sky, while great branches sprouted out of the vast trees and intertwined with one another, their leaves creating an impenetrable canopy that blocked out both sun and star.

It was because of this that the Jungle floor was undisturbed until now, at the base of two of Wooden Giants who were no more than fifteen meters apart crouched four figures, three men and one women waited for the fifth member of their group to return.

They were in pairs, each pair behind one of the two trunks. One pair comprising of the younger members of the team were a Lieutenant (junior grade), and a Warrant Officer, they were Templars -Three and -Four respectively of Fireteam Templar. They were encased in black bodysuits, over which they wore light grey, dark green striped power armor, whose lights pulsed a soft blue. The senior of the two commandos cradled a long twin-pronged rifle in her grasp; it was an Asymmetric Recoilless Carbine. The latest in a long generation of man-portable railguns. The other of the two wielded a MA9a Gauss Assault Rifle, which was the newest in an even longer line of Rifles. Their Dark Green markings showed them to be Jump-Jet specialists, their hallmark jetpacks deactivated on their backs.

To their left crouched the second pair. They were the Fireteam's Commander and Executive officer, a Lieutenant Commander, and a Lieutenant respectively. The executive officer like the junior members of the group wore a black bodysuit and light grey armor and soft blue lights, call sign Templar-Two. But his markings were of a deep orange, a support specialist. He wielded a M744 Light Machine Gun, and as a secondary armament a grenade launcher slung across his back. The Fireteam leader was similar to the rest of his squad, except for the blood red stripes that he wore, they marked his as unit leader for the duration of the mission as Templar-One.

The Fireteam leader sat crouched his MA9a, cradled in his arms, as his left knee dug softly into the unpacked dirt. At the top of his HUD was a solid blue bar, in the bottom right was an ammo-counter, and on its opposite side was a motion tracker that read clear. Above this but below the Shield Bar was a cluster of five lights all green. Cold blue eyes scanned the power armor's heads up display, until the fifth light blinked yellow before returning to green. His motion tracker showed a yellow dot make its move to his left. Soundlessly the final member of the squad made his appearance and standing at seven foot twelve he was by far the tallest of them.

"Report" Ordered Templar-One the Fireteam leader of Fireteam Templar to the team's fifth member. As he cocked his head to the left, he wasn't one for waiting. His Fireteam was planet-side for an Operation, and he was determined they wouldn't fail.

"Two patrols, circulating around the objectives location, at ninety meters distance from the objective." The Sangheili responded smartly, as he shifted in his olive green combat harness. His suits translator going full speed "Each patrol comprises of two Kig-Yar minors, and a Skirmisher major. There are four mercenary snipers in two towers at either edge of the camp, another six with shields spread out, and our objective with three Sangheili Guards."

Templar-One considered this for a second, which meant twelve mercenaries and three Storm officers. But he'd need a closer look; mercenaries could be unpredictable given desperation, especially Kig-Yar. Not that he distrusted the Sangheili; nevertheless after Torfan he had always preferred to have as much Intel as possible.

"Fireteam move out, Ulras lead the way" Templar-One ordered as he emerged from his cover and with his XO to his right and rear, a way point was established as to where the objective was, which was to the west.

The only sound any of them could hear was the soft crunch of armored boots as they moved over soft dirt under the dense canopy of the Alien Jungle.

"Switch to VISR mode." He ordered as his Fireteam move ever closer to the objective, now 2,000 meters away. The VISR Version 7, like its three previous models had the Z-5080 Short-Range Spectrum Augmenter/Vision boosting its ability to friendlies and Hostile alike behind cover or in the open. In the darkness of the Jungle it made the mice into all-seeing giants, a living nightmare to the enemies of Man and its Empire.

With that order given the Jungle ground changed to a light green, tree trunks pulsed softly as they passed. Looking to his right Templar-One watched out of the corner of his eye as Three and Four kept pace with the two veteran Spartans, and for a split chin Ulras wasn't that bad as a pathfinder for that matter.

Ulras led the Fireteam through the Jungle at a steady pace until they got within four hundred meters of the objective. Heading to the left they reached an area Ulras had spotted earlier on his recon.

The area was a thick brush covered reverse slope that allowed them to be able to look down at the only clearing in the region, which was where their objective waited extraction.

Templar-One fell prone along with the rest of his Fireteam. Activating his VISR's zoom function he took a look at the Opposing Force.

There were six shield-wielding Kig-Yar, four Minors armed with plasma pistols lead by a pair of Kig-Yar Majors armed with Needlers. At either edge were make-shift towers no more than four meters in height, which was higher he saw than any thing in the two hundred meters surrounding the small camp. Within the center of the camp was a trio of Storm-Aligned Sangheili warriors, their charge; an Ossoon who had critical Intel that could not be allowed to be exposed as well as an old Great War era covenant beacon. Templar-One frown beneath his gold visor, the beacon was trouble as it meant that all the OpFor was doing at their camp was to wait for extraction. That could not and would not happen under his watch.

"Sir" said Templar-Three who was spotting through her ARC-970's inbuilt-scope. "Hostile patrol spotted, ninety meters from camp and three hundred and ten meters from our location."

Templar-One nodded, he watched as OpFor patrol headed north from his location as a plan started to take shape in his head, and when it came he nodded to himself.

"Five locate then shadow the other patrol, eliminate on signal" Ulras, Templar Five flashed his acknowledgement when his green dot flashed the remained yellow.

"Four, engage with your Grenade launcher on the Sangheili Majors, keep them and the HVT pinned, Jump on my signal." A second green light on his HUD flashed yellow.

"Three, eliminate the snipers, then assist Four, Jump on Command" The last part of the previous orders felt redundant the kids had good heads on their shoulders, else they wouldn't have made it though Academy.

"Templar-Two take out the Shield Bearers, and keep them contained, three and four are going to be exposed." The Lieutenant Commander told the Lieutenant.

Once the last light flashed yellow, he moved as silently as he could in power armor to shadow the patrol that Three had spotted. Weaving through the Great Trees he kept to mercs right and rear keeping a forty-meter distance.

Templar-One tensed as a leaf crunched under his boot, causing the patrol to freeze. The Kig-Yar stood and peered at the darkness with their naturally developed night vision, trying to find the offender. Looking at their armament he found him self semi-impressed or as impressed as a human could get with Xeno Mercenaries. The skirmisher was armed with a plasma rifle while his companions held energy pistols.

Silently raising his Assault Rifle he fell into a crouch and aimed at the biggest of the threats, the Skirmisher. Now or never he told himself as he took aim at the Birds chest.

Letting loose two three round bursts, the six rounds traveled at a few thousand kilometers per second. The first burst shattered the Kig-Yar's armor sending fragments into its chest and at its companions, leaving the second burst to shred the flesh underneath. The hostile dropped without even a screech.

Both of the shield Bearers immediately moved, slamming shields together in an overlap while they charged their energy pistols, searching for him.

Templar-One moved as he was trained to do back at the academy. The sound of chaos, war and the dying filled the air as he moved to a new location, the sounds of battle disguising his footfalls. Readying a grenade he tossed the heavier that normal explosive to the feet of the Kig-Yar, and with his new position it landed underneath one of the panicked mercs, with that done he ducked behind a tree.

Kig-Yar were fast as a rule, but that didn't mean they were fast enough to get away from a UNSC issued Concussion grenade. With a roar it detonated obliterated two pair, the grenades shockwave tearing the pair apart in a split second.

Emerging from cover he advanced on the downed tangos, he didn't need any thing more than a cursory check, as there were only a few strips of flesh left blood carpeting a two-meter area.

"Fireteam Templar, report" He ordered as he moved to the engagement zone.

"Five, Patrol eliminated, engaging from two's eleven." Came Ulras's deep voice over the

"Four, HVT wounded but in cover, the bodyguards are KIA, over."

"Three, Snipers are KIA, I can engage HVT but I'm pinned by Kig-Yar, over."

"Two, four of the bearers are KIA moving up, over."

Listening to his Fireteams status he saddled up to a small out cropping, he watched as Three crouched behind what was left of one of the sniper towers her M8B smg grasped in her hands, and not seven meters away his VISR showed the HVT in cover.

"Two, Four and Five take out those Kig-Yar, Three once they're down take out the HVT" He ordered, and then added, "I've got you six"

Almost immediately the two remaining Kig-Yar were torn apart from a mix of plasma, and depleted uranium moving at a few thousand kilometers an hour. Which left the HVT, the target was smart as Templar-One and Three laid down a barrage that kept him pinned as they both advanced, Three was to his left and from his position three meters from the target. Then the target did some thing that was unexpected.

It burst from cover, and charged the young lieutenant. If she had been a Marine or even an ODST she would have been ghost-spattered, but she wasn't, she was a Spartan and more than that she had years of training, as well as three years of field experience under her belt.

Firing her smg Three dropped the HVT's shields, slapping her M8B smg to her thigh. She drew her Spartan issued Kukri, a blade of hyper-dense silver alloy, it had become the JumpJet Spartan specialists CQB blade of choice. She rolled to her right, getting her behind the target and sliced at the exposed area of the Ossoons knee joint sending it to its knees as it let out a loud scream. Templar-Three rolled away to her right; just as she like the way Spartans had been taught at the Academy, or at least those who had gone to the Academy.

Jumping back up she wrapped her arm under the HVT's screaming head and slit its throat, killing it.

"Templar, regroup on me." Templar-One ordered as he walked up to the beacon and open fire full-auto at it, ending its transmission. "Normandy, Mission Accomplished, HVT is KIA, waiting for extraction, over"

There was a pause then a voice can from everywhere and nowhere.

**OBJECTIVE COMPLETED, SIMULATION COMPLETE. **

_UNSC NORMANDY, May 2582_

Templar-One blinked as the simulation flashed into darkness, and the lid of the simulation-pod opened soundlessly.

Stepping out of and to the side of his previously occupied pod, the Fireteam leader of Fireteam Templar gazed at the chamber and his emerging squad.

The room was square shaped, with a dozen black coffin-shaped simulation-pods arranged in a semicircle around an observation table, which sat in the room's center. Soft light came from the top corners of each of the four walls. From four of the pods emerged his team, Fireteam Templar.

His Fireteam could have been an odd mix in any outfit.

His second, earth-born Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko stood at over six foot, his regulation cut black hair, and brown eyes could have made undistinguishable in any group. The former-marine had joined the Spartans after exemplary service and passing the necessary qualifications and training. He had ended up joining the Fireteam Templar-One was apart of a few years ago and they had ended up sticking together since then. With Alenko acting as the Fireteams Jack-of-trades since the beginning.

Felicia Carter, call sign Templar-Three, the only female in the team, stood at six foot seven, her light brown hair tied into a bun at the back of her head covering the Spartan standard issue Neural Implant. Green eyes looked towards the last Spartan of Fireteam Templar her friend and the squad's grenadier, Templar-Four.

Min Ambrose, call sign Templar-Four was the shortest of the group as he stood at six foot six topped with jet-black hair, black eyes looking to Felicia in silent communication. The pair was attached to hip when it came to looking after one another, but after a mission like Akuze that was to be expected. Even then both Spartans were from the Fortress World Eric's Holdfast, Min with his parents who helped train recruits for the Fortress Worlds' UNSCMC garrison and Felicia from an orphanage before being sent off to live with her uncle on Elysium.

The last member of their group was the tallest by a fair margin and he wasn't even human. Minor Domo Ulras 'Vadam stood at an impressive eight foot two, which was eight inches taller than the Commander himself. Where the Spartans wore their standard off-duty garb; Grey BDU pants, belt, black polished combat boots and grey body suit, Ulras wore his olive green standard-issue New Covenant Combat Harness.

Turning back to the center of the room, Templar-One saw that, there were more people present than there had been where he and the rest of Templar had originally entered the Sim Room.

"Captain on deck!" Templar-One barked out as he and his squad snapped to attention.

The Normandy's Captain was a legend in the UNSC Navy Prowler Corps, he had been born and raised during the Great War, serving in the Navy since the Rearmament period and had served on a prowler during the UNSC's Counter-Attack that started in January of 2557. Since then he had been apart of dozens of operations each one as successful as the last. The earth-born captain was dressed in the grey Armor-like uniform that had been the late to post Great War era standard for naval officers. The captain inspected the team for a moment before giving the order to stand down.

"Good work Shepard, you completed the mission in twenty eight minutes." Captain David Anderson said congratulating Fireteam Templar.

"Your Fireteam preformed within the performance level that had been expected." Said the ship resident spook, Intelligence Officer Miranda Lawson, who wore the ONI trademark black uniform, and black-grey triangle insignia on either shoulder. Shepard didn't trust her. Being member of Office Of Naval Intelligence and her cold attitude was his primary reason for his distrust; even then he didn't have to like her to work with her.

"When will we be heading out, sir?" Lieutenant Commander Nathan Shepard asked, turning to look at the Captain.

"We'll leave the fleet in half an hour, from there its fifteen minutes to the target system in slip-space and another fifteen until we're hunting, Commander"

"Get suited up in forty-five, sir?" Asked Shepard, when Anderson nodded and turned to leave, Shepard turned to the members of Templar "Min, remember the M319 can be used for both airburst and direct fire." Said Shepard as he proceed to critiqued his team for fifteen minutes, to iron out any mistakes so they wouldn't be made while out on mission.

"Felicia, Chambers is waiting for you in observation two." Shepard reminded the Lieutenant, when he finished the critiquing. After receiving an affirmative from the brunette he dismissed the Fireteam.

Felicia took the lead as she headed to the room in question and moved to the starboard side of the ship, which was the right side of the ship if you were facing forward from the back. Min followed his best friend; the pair was inseparable, even before the incident. But after Akuze, Felicia and Min were never far apart.

Akuze was a disaster, an eight strong pioneer team, forty-six marines, and three Spartans, all KIA by the time it was over. It had taken place in 2580, two years ago, but a few months afterwards both Spartans had been declared fit for duty. Regardless Felicia still needed to see the ship's ONI-sanctioned psychologist to get over the incident. The kid seemed to keep getting the short end of the stick he thought, becoming an orphan, then Akuze, regardless if her record was anything to show she had excelled at the Franklin Mendez Academy of Military Science on Elysium.

"She is strong and will not bend easily, Butcher" Commented Ulras as he stood to Shepard's left, in the classical Sangheili hunch.

Shepard scowled; he hated that title, which people started to call him after an anti-piracy operation on the moon Torfan. He hated the operation no matter the success of in destroying one of the Damocles Cluster's largest Kig-Yar pirate dens, he had gotten too many good men and women killed that day including the rest of his squad.

"True" Shepard admitted as the trio walked down the hallway, when Ulras turned down another hallway at an intersection heading to the Normandy's Rec room.

That left Nathan and Kaidan to continue their walk down the center hallway until they reached one of the Normandy's elevators. Entering Shepard pressed the hard-light display sending the elevator, which was hardly ever that, to the ships lowest deck, the SOEIV and the ships small shuttle bay. Shepard allowed his mind to drift as the Grav-Lift platform descended.

The Normandy was a prototype stealth attack-frigate, at 320 meters in length the angular arrow shaped ship was smaller than a modern fast-frigate which stood at 360 meters in length and much small than the venerable Charon class which stood at 490 meters in length. The Normandy's hull was covered in Loki stealth plating, which was if the tests were correct, to be as durable as modern Titanium-B alloy. It was suppose to be able passively mask the ships emissions, and along with a prototype Cloaking system it made the ship impossible to find or at least that's what all previous tests had shown when faced with modern sensor suits even with its energy shields active. This was the reason why they were going pirate hunting, to test it in the field.

Unlike its predecessors the Normandy had teeth, plenty of it. It still had the standard pulse lasers, but it also had eight Howler missile pods each loaded with ten of the ship killers, to top it off it had a nuclear armament and its main gun. The main gun was a particle accelerator. The PAC as it was called had dictated the ships size; it was the smallest that could be made. The draw back was that additional power needed to be routed to it, leaving the Normandy vulnerable. All of the technology, weapons, and its stealth system made the Normandy a silent ship killer even with the vulnerability.

Shepard shook his head, the Normandy wouldn't have been possible without the Heian Discovery back in June of fifty-eight, when a UNSC fleet found ruins older than any previously found Forerunner Instillations. Deep underground in a chamber under the ruins they found The Watcher. An Ancient Human Empire Artificial Intelligence, and he had been in a stasis awaiting activation. Once he was activated and had seen who had awakened him, it changed everything for the Human race.

The Great War had up to that point had been a nightmare, the first twenty-eight years saw humanity pushed back until the Battle of Earth, which resulted in a Pyrrhic victory for humanity and its new allies the Separatists. But even with the death of the three Hierarchs and the disappearance of the San 'Shyuum, the loyalists were still out there in force. The tide began to change in the early weeks of 2553, when Trevelyan had been uncovered and those within freed. From there the UNSC underwent a massive rearmament upgrading every warship Humanity had with Forerunner technology. In 2557, with a sufficient amount of ships upgraded the UNSC took to the offensive. They found Requiem, which was its own spot of trouble with a rogue Forerunner, and Forerunner AIs, but they did find and then brought back The Chief. That Shepard reminded himself in addition to gained access to the Absolute Record and a second Shield World. Bringing an end to the UNSC's first offensive into Covenant Space.

It was on the second offensive that they found Heian, and when the war ended in 2560, humanity suffered a near coup' d'état from Admiral Parangosky. She along with most of her loyalists ended up dead, killed or summery executed for treason but a few vanished at the end of the six month long fiasco. Both the War and the Coup left humanity lost, directionless and uncertain. It was because of this that HIGHCOM's Security Committee and Council had directed newly installed Director of ONI, Dr. Halsey to have Section II reveal the AHE to the public. By this point in time the public had already learned about the Forerunners, and the Reclaimer-Status of Humanity, which had been the cause of the Great War in the first place.

What resulted was a revival, a rebirth. Humanity was already highly militarized, with a vast technological and robust industrial base. Fortress worlds dotted human space post-Great War, and most human colonial governments had made military service mandatory to try and ensure that Humanity would not go quietly in the night. Human society became martial in response to the eighty billion men, women, and children who lost their lives as well as the total destruction of five hundred colonies. The Insurrection was something of the past. The sacrifices the UNSC had made to protect all humanity and the fact that there were too few humans left were the primary contributors.

Humanity had made a vow; _Never again would we be the hunted. We were no longer mice that would hide and be cowed. We. Are. The. Giants. Now._

With it a new age had dawned, a new future for a sundered people, _The Reclamation._

"Done yet, Shepard?" Alenko asked besides him with a chuckle.

'I-"Shepard looked to where the elevator had stopped. "Sorry about that Alenko, just lost in my thoughts." He said as he ran a hand through his buzz cut auburn hair.

"Torfan?" His friend asked, with a hint of concern.

"Negative" Shepard replied as he marched out of the grav-lift, the Shuttle bay was a small dimly light hanger, with enough space for two Pelicans to sit side by side with room to spare. There was only one in the Bay at the moment; it was a D81-STC or Dropship 81 Heavy- Stealth Troop Carrier. True to its name it was midnight black from its passive systems, the Pelican's Cloaking field was offline as well. Since the New Covenant like its predecessors used cloaking fields for its Phantoms the UNSC saw no reason why they shouldn't do so as well for its SpecOps birds.

"You wonder if those rumors are true, Commander?" Asked Kaidan, as they walked in to the Bay.

"Which rumors?"

"You know, the ones about Forerunners being out there." Kaidan answered gesturing 'out-there' with a wave of a hand.

"Above my pay-grade Alenko, and if they're around even with the Tier One tech we have now we would still get kicked around like we're Grunts against a Hunter." Promethean Knights were difficult enough to fight in the simulator as it was, Shepard thought.

"Makes you wonder how the Chief and the Infinity's Spartan Company kicked the Didact's ass, though." Responded Kaidan.

"What's the birds status, Cortez" Shepard called out to the Pelicans pilot call sign Hammerhead, whom Shepard could see from the open rear hatch at a systems consol, ignoring Kaidan's response.

The Flight Lieutenant turned around from what he was doing to reply, "She's good Commander, and I'll have ready for when we have a go ahead for hunting."

"I'll check on the Argus drones, Shepard," said Alenko as he headed to the left of the room where a rack of seven drones waited at their charging stations.

"Going down in a cushy Pelican, Commander?" A feminine voice asked from his left, turning Shepard found the speaker in question and raised an eyebrow.

The woman snapped to attention, which he returned as he responded. "My team's coming down with extra firepower, Helljumper. There is _nothing_ like overkill in the in a Buzzard Hunt."

"I didn't think overkill existed, sir" The onyx armored Orbital Drop Shock Trooper responded with a smirk.

The HellJumpers were a dying unit with the advancement of technology such as GEN 4 power armor. With the growth of the Spartan Corps, the ODSTs were being folded gradually into the commandoes and the last of ODST formations would cease to exist in a few years.

Shepard raised a hand to reply when he was interrupted "Loki systems online, exiting slip-space in fifty seconds." The Normandy's AI Persephone called over the ship wide comms.

"True, You're people ready for action Williams?" Shepard admitted before responding, once the announcement had finished.

"Yes sir, Bhatia, Jenkins and Taylor are going over pod supplies now, we'll be ready to drop." Ashley confirmed, she commanded the Normandy's fifteen strong ODST detachment.

"Good, we'll see you planeside then" Shepard responded, where the elevator came back down depositing Felicia, Min, and Ulras. The former two in full MJOLNIR Gen IV armor, jetpacks equipped and Air Assault helmets held in each of their right arms. In all three of their left hands were their preferred primary armaments, for Felicia it was a ARC-970, for Min it was a M319 Grenade Launcher, and in Ulras's case a Type-55 Storm Rifle.

"Exiting slip-space in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…" The AI paused for several seconds, and then the ships sirens blared, "General Quarters, General Quarters, Condition Two set." Said the AI, before continuing again "Hostile Vector detected, Unknown Vector detected. Al-Cygni protocol in effect, Repeat…"

Shepard felt dread as he moved to his armor, it was a first contact and there were hostiles in system.

**Codex: The Reclaimer Empire**; or The Reclamation as its known to its citizens is a powerful Galactic-State originating from the Damocles Cluster. Analysts report that it may possibly be an equal to the Citadel Council, something that if true could change the balance of power for the first time in several millennia. While The Reclaimer Empire appears to be a single entity, it in fact compromises of two distinct branches; the UWD (United Worlds Directorate) is the political and 'morale' focused branch charged with political, civilian and primarily domestic affairs. The second branch is the UNSC (United Nations Space Command) believed to be far older than the UWD by centuries; the UNSC fulfills what it has under the defunct UEG as the Exploratory, Military, and Scientific branch of government.

**AN: I'll leave it with a cliffhanger there, tell me what you think about the combat, the Codex entry, and the OCs introduced. PM me any questions and I'll try to answer without spoiling anything.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, 343 Industries owns Halo, and Mass Effect belongs to Bioware**

"Mayday, Mayday. This is the _ESV Solar Wind_ we are under attack, repeat-."

"This is the _HSV Judicator_ we are on station, stand by."

"Thank the goddess"

-Exploratory Space Vessel _Solar Wind_ to the Hierarchy Space Vessel _Judicator_ prior to the Judicator Incident.

_HSV Judicator- Interrogation Room, 2683 Galactic Standard_

The room was poorly light, a single light brought a dull white glow to the room; it's bulkhead, deck, and overhead composed of solid metal as did the table and chair bolted to the deck. The only noise came from one of the rooms' two occupants pacing back and forth in front of the rooms other occupant who was holo-cuffed to the chair.

The interrogator paced back and forth across from the prisoner, the boots of his black and blue armor making solid thumps as he paced, his head looking down at the data pad in his hand.

"Let's see here," The interrogator murmured in his flanged voice "Ka'hairal Balak, Privateer and Captain of the Hegemony Navy, correct." The interrogator paused his pacing to turn his face to look down at the Batarian prisoner.

The Batarian attempted to shift only stop when the holo-cuffs attaching him to the chair halted his movement. "If it is skull-face," he growled out to his captor tilting his head to the right.

The interrogator chuckled "You do realize that you're not going to get away with this do you?"

"The Hegemony is a associated member of the Citadel" Balak shot back.

"Your point? You attacked a vessel under Council jurisdiction." The interrogator asked his left eye scanning the prisoners' biometrics projected onto his visor. The Batarian was starting to panic, if the visor The Interrogator had was correct.

"I was under orders to curb piracy in the region, attacking the _Solar Wind_ was a accident." Balak pleaded try to shift blame off of himself. While he tried to mask his panic, the Turian couldn't do this he thought.

"Right that's as believable as there is Protheans still being around in the galaxy, try some thing I haven't heard before." The interrogator asked amused.

Balak kept his head tilted to the right a second time as he growled out. "The Council has always gone against my people."

"You sound surprised, the Hierarchy has always been disgruntled with your people for the flaunting of Citadel Law."

"What does my peoples cultural heritage have to do with this!" Balak screamed out to his captor.

To this the interrogator slammed his data pad to the table. "You had backing to come out here, tell me who they are, and what your hiding out here."

Balak chuckled desperately "You can't do anything Turian."

The Turian paused to think, his prisoner was only half right, half. "Well I can't just yet, but my boss, well he can do what ever he wants."

Balaks jaw went slack as all both sets of his eyes widened with realization. "My backer is on Camala, his name is Edan Had'dah." He said hanging his head in defeat.

"See, that wasn't hard." With that the interrogator left the room.

He nodded to the two black and red striped armored soldiers standing guard, before he turned to his superior who was leaning against the bulkhead across from the door of the room he just left.

"Wasn't hard at all, like taking a treat from a infant Volus." He said halting in front of his superior. "I have the name of his backer, Edan Had'dah on the planet Camala in the Traverse."

"You did good Garrus." Garrus's boss SPECTRE Nihlus Kryik responded.

"Men, take the prisoner back to his cell, we are done here." Nihlus ordered, and both soldiers saluted before heading into the cell.

Garrus turned to the SPECTRE as they headed down the hallway. "Does being a SPECTRE always make interrogation that easy?" he asked. It seemed to be the case from his travels with the SPECTRE, ever since he quit C-Sec months ago.

Nihlus shrugged "When they know what they're facing it deflates their opposition quickly."

'Wish I could have been able to get away with that back at C-Sec, and no red tape is bonus." Garrus paused as he organized his thoughts. "What going to happen now do you think?"

"With the Hegemony? They attacked a vessel that was under Council orders, and many people have had enough of the Batarians for several lifetimes." Nihlus responded. "They will be ejected from the Citadel."

"Then what?" Garrus asked, that couldn't be all of what was going to be done, he thought. "We know they are hiding something, not to mention their slavery."

Nihlus sighed. "That's true Garrus, but the Council also needs to consider if it's worth going to war with the Hegemony."

Garrus growled at the hopelessness of the situation.

"How are the survivors handling themselves?" Garrus asked

"The unwounded are in the mess hall, wounded are in the sick bay. I need to report to the ship commander so we can get underway." Nihlus responded as he headed to a nearby stairwell, leaving Garrus to himself.

Minutes later Garrus found himself standing outside of the _Judicators_ small mess hall. The unwounded survivors were clustered around the room in four groups. On the far left of were he was standing sat the _Solar Winds'_ security detail, or what was left of it. The three Turian guards were clustered together in a quiet discussion with several of the _Judicators'_ off-duty crewmembers.

The next group at the table next to them was more varied with a pair of Salarians, and a troop of four Asari leaning towards one another, levo rations; all the Frigate had for levo-acid species scattered around the table.

There were two other survivors, a Krogan, and a Quarian. The unarmed Krogan, which was a miracle in it self, sat at a table at the far corner of the room glaring at the rooms other occupants as he shifted in his red armor, his red-black head plate turning with his head as he watched. What was his name Garrus though when he remembered, right he told himself Urdnot Wrex, one of the few remaining Krogan Battlemasters and he was pissed. Then again when he came aboard, the _Judicators_ Commanding Officer threatened to space him if he didn't hand over his enormous shotgun. Which meant that the ones who got most of his ire stood no more that five meters away, a trio of armored and heavily armed Hierarchy soldiers who stood guard, armed with heavy shotguns modded with shredders.

The last uninjured survivor, the Quarian sat hunched over looking at her Omni-tool making her seem even smaller than she already was. He wasn't able to catch her name, because he handling the prisoner from the Hegemony frigate, whose escape pod had been towed aboard at that moment.

It was her that he approached first. Walking into the mess he earned glances from the Asari, Salarians and the Turians, but they turned back just as quickly returning to their conversations.

When he reached the Quarian, he stepped around the table to sit across from the Quarian. When he sat down his armor made a solid thump on the metal bench.

"Keelah" The Quarian cried out as she jumped up in surprise. "W-Why did you do that?" She shot out glaring at Garrus, before she tensed up upon seeing whom she shouted at.

Garrus chuckled "Sorry about that I couldn't resist." The Quarian kept what he assumed was a glare when she responded quietly. "I- Oh, so what did you ah, want SPECTRE."

"Names Vakarian, Garrus Vakarian and I'm not a SPECTRE, not yet at least, I'm still under evaluation." Garrus replied, cringing at his response. "I didn't catch your name when you came onboard earlier."

"Its Tali'Zorah nar _Rayya_, SPEC- Garrus." Tali replied nervously.

"Nar _Rayya_, your on your pilgrimage?" Garrus asked, using what he learned while on the Citadel about Quarians.

Tali head cocked back in surprise at his knowledge of her species. "Yes, I joined the _Solar Wind_ as a engineer to earn credits so I can purchase something for my pilgrimage, but I-I don't know what I can do anymore because we were attacked."

Garrus twisted his mandibles as a thought came to him. "Everything going to be alright, you seem a bit shaken up."

"I think I'm alright, but I have never been on a ship that was attacked before, not even back on the Flotilla, do you known when we will leave the system?" Tali asked as she shifted.

"I don't know how long it will take to discharge the static buildup, but I'll leave you to yourself if that helps you recover." Garrus told her as he stood to leave; that he told himself had been awkward.

He doubled back to the other side of the room; he wasn't even going to bother talking to the Krogan.

Heading to the cluster of Turians he could help but over hear the group of Asari and Salarians.

"It's not your fault T'Soris, we could always launch a new expedition later." Said one of the Asari, who tried to reassure the expedition group leader; Matron Adaia T'Soris.

"Unlikely. Batarian pirate presence detracts any possibility of return. Council unlikely to continue sponsoring expeditions." One of the Salarians, one with a single horn reported.

"Goddess, if only we could, we might find the discovery of the millennia." The youngest of the Asari, Dr. T'Soni murmured more to herself than anyone else. Her thoughts filled with the possibilities of making a discovery that would no longer make her seem lesser to her peers.

Garrus never made it to the far table, his walk interrupted by the ships intercom.

"All crew report to duty stations, unidentified contact detected." The _Judicators' _intercom blared out.

Garrus and the other off-duty Turians sprinted out of the mess hall, and he bolted to the bridge specifically.

_HSV Judicator- Bridge_

The _Judicators' _Bridge was in a state of controlled chaos when Garrus entered. In standard Hierarchy Navy style the Captains raised platform was at the rear and arrayed before the post was all other stations of the Frigates Bridge. Looking around Garrus found Kryik standing to the left and rear of the captain his Omni-tool activated.

"What's the situation?" Asked Garrus over the commotion of crewmen giving reports and status updates, along with the barks of officers giving orders.

Nihlus turned to face him. "Sensor probes registered an unknown vessel on intercept trajectory, we will be getting more information shortly when it comes in LADAR range."

"LADAR resolution coming in fifteen seconds." A crewman at a Sensor Station called out bringing the bridges noise level down several notches.

"Show me on the holo-display." Ordered the Frigates captain, Commander Raxus.

"Contact resolution coming in." The Sensor operator reported. "Spirits- it's a dreadnought, coming in fast."

Garrus's mandibles spread out in shock as he turned to look at Nihlus who was equally surprised at the announcement.

The holo-display changed showing the Dreadnought in question. It was an odd shape, one he unsurprisingly didn't recognize. It was vaguely oblong in shape with a double-hull layout.

Raxus ever the calm looked at the image projected by the LADAR scans. "Size, weapons, time to intercept?" was all he asked.

"Nine hundred and fifty six meters in length, almost four hundred meters at its widest point." The crewman paused to asses the readouts. "Estimated time to intercept is in twenty minutes, no mass accelerators detected and I am not reading any Element Zero signatures." He finished the last part as a question.

"No Element Zero?" Raxus responded, "Check your sensors again."

Garrus couldn't help but agree with the Commander, a ship of that size and speed would need Element Zero and a lot of it for that matter.

"Confirmed, Sir" The Sensor operator reported. "No trace of any Element Zero detected, seventeen minutes to intercept."

Raxus nodded curtly. "What's our static charge level?" He asked another crewmen.

"We cannot go into FTL, we still have too much of a static charge build up, Sir."

"Send a contact message out, let's see if it's peaceful."

"Message out." Reported comms. "Wait-package was ignored."

"Damn." Raxus growled. "Sensors project a map of the system."

The image on the holo-display changed to show the four-planet system, and where they were at, the third planet. "What is the second planet?" Raxus ordered.

"Garden world, sir" Sensors reported.

"Good head there, what is the ETA for the Unknown."

"Fourteen minutes, we can get to the planet in thirteen."

"That's all we need." Responded Raxus before he activated the intercom. "All crew this is Commander Raxus, prepare to abandon ship, repeat prepare to abandon ship."

Garrus's mandibles widened before he got in control of himself and turned to Nihlus.

Raxus beat him to it. "SPECTRE have you and your man get the _Solar Wind_ Survivors to the escape pods, this isn't a fight we can hope to win." Nihlus nodded

"Lets go Garrus." Nihlus ordered as he turned to run out, Garrus followed as they sprinted to the mess hall.

Entering Nihlus looked to the _Solar Wind_ crew who stood around unsure of what to do. "Everyone on us, were heading to the escape pods and getting out of here." Nihlus ordered. "Garrus lead the way, I'll follow."

Garrus didn't reply as he led the others to where he knew the nearest pods were.

The _Judicators _Intercom blared as they headed out. "Bridge, Ninth Platoon is loading up we'll be ready to go when the orders given." The Ninth Platoons' commanding officer stated over the intercom.

"What about the wounded?" T'Soris asked Nihlus worriedly.

"Medical staff will leave with them, keep your mind on getting out of here." Nihlus replied as the group made a twist around a corner had reached the outer bulkhead where a line of pods sat their doors open. Each pod was capable of carrying four people or two Krogan each and with thirteen people including one Krogan and four pods they had enough.

Garrus reached the farthest pod before he began to motion the _Solar Wind_ crew to get into the pods. They did so in moments splitting up, leaving only Nihlus and himself to remain outside of the pods.

"Garrus get in, I'll see you planet side." Garrus nodded as he entered his pod closing the door. Once inside he brought down a harness over himself.

"Everyone alright?" Garrus asked.

"Keelah, yes." Tali replied her voice strained.

"Y-Yes, is this really happening." Doctor T'Soni responded nervously.

"Ready to go, what is attacking us?" Doctor Solus asked curiously.

Garrus looked at the timer on his visor before he replied. "A unknown dreadnought class ship moving fast on an intercept trajectory." He didn't bother to tell them that the Dreadnought didn't have any trace of Element Zero; he still didn't know what to make of that piece of information.

His reply caused the Asari and Quarian to cry out in surprise.

"Understandable. _Judicator_ only a Frigate. Wouldn't last against a Dreadnought. Logical solution to get planet side. Then wait for rescue." Responded the Salarian.

Garrus patched his visor into the _Judicators_ communications network, afterwards he watched his timer count down to less than a minute when Raxus came on the comms.

"All pods and shuttles you have a green light to go, For Palaven, Commander Raxus out."

Garrus felt his stomach twist with realization when the pod jerk as Doctor Solus pressed the eject switch sending the pod down to the planet. He watched helplessly as the _Judicator_ was hit with several orbs of what looked like energy, they burned into the hull of the vessel effortlessly. The _Judicator_ sat in space for a moment when it exploded over them.

The pods occupants were silent as they descended into the unknown planets' atmosphere.

_UNSC NORMANDY (Bridge) MAY 2582, T-20 minutes to slipspace exit _

Captain Anderson stretched his back as he entered the _Normandy's _Bridge; it was buried into the center of the ship; as to give one of the most vital parts of the ship the most protection possible. The Bridge took the shape that UNSC ships had taken since time immortal; Helms was up front with all other station arrayed around the Captains station, which was in the center. In the center it self was his command station; a holo-table, which was something that had become standard since the rearmament period of the Great War.

Anderson approached his station, which for the moment was manned by Lieutenant Commander Pressly, the _Normandy's_ Executive Officer. Pressly was similar to himself as an old hand from the Great War and as much a veteran as the Captain.

After Anderson relived and then dismissed his XO he watched the Bridge crew go about their duties. At the Helms was Lieutenant Jeff Moreau his dark brown hair; cut to regulation length, hazel eyes scanning the hard-light displays laid out before him. Standing at the comms station was Lieutenant (Jg) Samantha Treynor; she served as the ground teams handler assisting them from the ship. Sitting at the weapons was Ensign Raewyn, a man in his thirties who had been selected to serve on the Normandy for his aptitude for shipboard weapons. Anderson took in the other officers and enlisted crew as he spoke up.

"Persephone what's our status?"

A corner of his holo-table glowed as a blue tinted figure materialized into the form of the Greek Goddess in question. "Sir, all systems are functioning within safety parameters and we will be leaving Slipspace in fifteen minutes." She reported curtly.

"Our… Guest?" He asked knowing that she knew who he was talking about.

"Ulras 'Vadam is in the Rec room, I as well as Ensign Locke have him under observation, Sir." Persephone reported.

Anderson nodded, un- or hostile Xenos and even allies were to always be suspect, ever since the end of the Great War and the existence of hostile splinter groups came about. Humanity could not afford take chances, not with the cost to their people they had already paid. Not to say they were extremely xenophobic; they had fought along side their allies for nearly eight years before The War ended. Humanity as a whole found it difficult to trust regardless of status of other races to themselves. His mind drifted to the Great War and how he had grown up during the modern Dark Age of despair, fear, hopelessness, and loss. He got a hold of himself as he organized his thoughts.

The Sangheili in question was present because the New Covenant didn't have enough ships available to send in order augment the UNSC Battle Group that was holding station in an UNSC-New Covenant controlled system. The Covenant Remnant was making another massive push into the heart of New Covenant held space. Something that the New Covenant was sending all ships not in reserve or already dedicated on other engagements to the conflict zone, and so they along with a sizable UNSC task force had been deployed to halt the Remnants advance.

In 2552 when the Great Schism broke out, it caused the Covenant Empire split in half between the Separatists and the Loyalists. Since then the Great War ended when an UNSC-New Covenant armada, the largest naval/ground force in the Great Wars' history drove Loyalists forces back to their homeworlds; for the Kig-Yar it was Eayn, for the Jirahanae it was Dosiac, and for the Yanme'e it was Palamok. Once driven back to their homeworlds the Loyalists were bombarded back to preflight status, which many in the UNSC and the New Covenant saw as a mercy compared to the loss of life that had been inflicted by the Covenant Loyalists.

It wasn't that clear cut for that matter either, Anderson remembered. A minority of Unggoy and Mgalegolo had sided with the Loyalist and a minority of Kig-Yar had sided with the Separatists when their civil war broke out.

The blurred lines of loyalty was what lead to the Covenant Remnant, a mix of remaining Loyalist who wanted vengeance and what was seen as more worrying; a significant Sangheili group who had ceded from the New Covenant and who still followed the Great Journey, the worship in which was a capital offense, for the safe guarding of all life.

Humanities allies were not the only ones dealing with splinter groups for that matter either, Paragosky's Loyalists, and refugee-insurgents who fought those who sheltered them was what The Reclamation had to deal with in recent times. It was the second group that Anderson and many Humans thought as disgraceful. When The War ended, countless non-humans across the Damocles Star Cluster had been uprooted and many found themselves in Reclamation space living in walled and guarded conclaves as refugees, if a refugee complied with UNSC or local UWD authorities they were fine. If not then there were consequences for those Xenos who rebelled against The Reclamation. It something the UNSC had extensive experience in, due in part to the Insurrection. It was an insignificant minority for that matter as well, one in one thousand Xenos who still held a petty grudge at most in the conclaves.

"Persephone, have Locke pull off and get suited up for duty." Anderson ordered; Ensign Gwyneth Locke was one of the youngest crewmen on the Normandy and like many UNSC personal an orphan. She was an ONI officer specializing in Xenology; nonetheless she had taken extensive training both in combat and academic areas since a young age. With an ONI issued semi-powered combat armor, and field operative level augmentations it made the Ensign a force to be reckoned with, like any Spartan.

"Send data package Beta-Gamma-3487-Alpha to my neural interface." He ordered the AI, The _Normandy's_ deployment wasn't solely to perform a shakedown run nor was it to go on a pirate hunt even those were the mission's two objectives. For years the Office of Naval Intelligence had mounting evidence that the Covenant Remnant was trading with an unknown faction.

It meant that there was a possible hard contact that was trading with the enemy something that the ARDI couldn't allow. The ARDI or Allied Races Defense Initiative was an alliance between The Reclamation and the New Covenant proposed by the late Fleet Admiral Lord Hood. Anderson's orders were to investigate and gather information so that ARDI forces could adapt to the unknown group, and with the new factions intervention the UNSC was mobilizing its domain for total war once more for the first time in over twenty years.

Anderson observed the information that scrolled down his right eye, listing what ONI had on the Unknowns, designated UKL-H01 or Unknown Life form-Hostile 01. The ship that had been observed during a reconnaissance mission prior to the _Normandy's_ deployment showed a strange gravity reading, which appeared to some how off-set a quartet of underpowered fusion torches which if analysis were correct was underpowered by the UNSC standards prior to the Great War, armor that was almost non existent and made of composites of currently unknown materials, and a spinal mounted MAC of unknown power. The ship it self was 180 meters in length, and it appeared to be uglier than even the standard brick format that the UNSC had used since the Interplanetary Wars in the 2160s.

"Captain, we are exiting slipspace in T-5 minutes." Persephone reported.

Anderson nodded "All stations report."

"Engineering, standing by." Reported Chief Adams.

"Gunnery, systems online."

"Navigation, systems ready."

It went on as each station reported that they were on online. "Sir, ninety seconds until we exit slipspace." Reported Persephone as her hologram shift on the corner of the holo-table.

"Persephone activate the Loki systems, weapons ready four Howlers per pod."

"Understood, Howlers ready, Sir." Ensign Raewyn reported

The ships intercom activated as Persephone's voice echoed across the ship. "Loki systems online exiting slipspace in fifty seconds."

Time ticked down slowly as the bridge tensed, then "Exiting Slipspace in 5… 4…. 3… 2… 1…." Persephone turned the _Normandy's_ sensor suite outward focusing on area around the stealth ship as it made an exit out of slipspace smoothly within the star system.

She was a seventh generation 'Smart' Artificial Intelligence capable of running countless calculations per second, this was what allowed her to scan then analyze what was in system before any sensor operator could comprehend what they were seeing.

What she found alarmed her. An unknown ship possibly corvette class was showing the same readings as UKL-H01's ship, but with a far different design and markings. If the ships design was anything to show it was built for one thing, war and it was on the run. Chasing it was a second contact this one was very familiar; a war era Covenant Corvette. The most worrying part was that the SDV-class heavy corvette was closing fast on the much smaller ship.

The UNSC had a designated protocol should this eventuality occur, and so the AI acted as according to her programming. Re-activating the shipboard comms, she made her broadcast "General Quarters, General Quarters, Condition Two set, Hostile Vector detected, Unknown Vector detected. Al-Cygni protocol in effect, Repeat…"

"Report." Anderson ordered as he steadied himself, as the rest of the crew went into momentary shock before their training took over.

"It's…"Persephone paused as she reviewed the data coming in from the sensor suit "…a convoluted mess, Sir." She reported.

**++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++A/N: Something to remember about this post war humanity. They are not what could be considered 'kind' with what they've been through; 60% of their species getting exterminated along with a attempted coup by elements of ONI, they are authoritarian in their actions and with a **_**Heavily **_**militarized population, you really don't want to be an enemy of theirs let alone considered a significant threat, not to mention they have allies who will aid them in such eventualities. The Reclaimer Empire doesn't see lasting peace as a possibility for humanities continued existence in the galaxy (it sounds nice, but it's a novelty that is meaningless to them), every war for them is one of survival due to what they have endured, but they just want to left alone which again isn't a viable reality. Before I get any PMs complaining about the refugee conclaves those are canon and are stated to exist in the intro cinematic for the first episode of Spartan Ops. **


End file.
